Improvement in wrenches



'tittted "tatee parte esta,

Letters Patent No. 109,493, dated November 22, 1870.

lMPROVEMEN'i' lN WRENCHES.

The Scheule'referred to in these Letters Patent and part ol' the same.

To all 4whom it may concern Be it known vthatwe, PETER linnnnss and CoxnAD CLINE, ot1 Braidwood, in the county of Will and State of Illinois, have invented certain improvements in Adjustable XVI-cliches, ot' which the following is a specification, reference being-had to the accompanying drawing.

.Our invention relates to that class ot adjustable wrenches in which the movable jawis operated by a thumb-screw attached thereto, and working in a. rack on the shank; and

:It consists in a novel manner of attaching and locking the. screw to the ja-wso that the screw can be in'- stantly disengaged 'from the rack, the jaw slid to any point on the shank, and the screw again engaged in the rack. l

Figure 1 is a side view of our improved wrench 5 Figure a longitudinal section otl the same on the line :v a* of fig. 3; and

Figure 3, a section on the liney f l/ ot'ig. 1.

A is the shank of our wrench, having the fixed head orjaw B on its end, and a rack, d, formed the whole length of its back, as shown;

C is the movable jaw, provided with two arms, a and b, which clasp around the shank to hold and guide the jaw, which latter is free to slide on the shank.

.D is a bar or bolt, havingr its upper end pivoted in a mortise in arm a of jaw C, and so arranged that its` lower and free end can shut int-o a recess made for the purpose in the lower arm b of said jaw.

lE is the thumb-screw, which is made with a longitudinal hole through its middle, and slippedonto the pivoted bolt D, so that, when the lower-end ofthe bolt is closed into its seat, the screw enga-ges into rack d, and, when turned by the fingers, moves the jaw C along` on the sha-uk; and so, also, that when the end qt' the bolt is turned outward the screw is disengaged from the rack, as shown in dotted lines in tig. 1, and the jaw thereby permitted 4to slide freely and loosely on the shank.

A Alongitudinal hole is bored into the bolt D, and a spiral spring, g, and catch-bolt h inserted therein, the end of the latter projecting beyond `the holt, and being formed with a thumb-piece, 1'.

usual manner; \Vl1en the jaw is to be moved only a very small dis-` A slot, j, is made through the catch h, and 'a pin, k, is passed through bolt D and said slot, as shown in 2 and 3, so as to allow a slight movement of the catch, but prevent it from escaping from the bolt.

' A notch is made in the lower arm b, into which the end ot' catch lt engages when the bolt I) is closed, so as to hold the screw in contact with the rack.

To operate the wrench, when a long movement of the jaw is required, the thumb-piece tds pressed up- -wafrd so as to disengage the catch hy and release the bolt D, the end of the bolt is turned outward so as to disengage the screw, and then the jaw moved as necessary "and the bolt pressed inward until the screw engages in the rack and the catch locks into the notch. The jaw is then tightened hyturning the'screw in the tance, it is not necessary to disconnect the screw, and the jaw is operated by the screw, as usual,

The joint at the upper end ot' bolt D is so formed that the bolt cannot swing far enough to carry the lower end of the screw beyond the arm b, which latter serves to hold the screw on the bolt and prevent it from sliding off when the latter is opened.

A lVe also bevel ot the edges or corners of the upper threads of thc screw, so thatl they enter readily between the teeth of the rack. Y

-The teeth of the rack are cut only part way into the shank, as shown in iig. 1, 'sothat a solid rib is left on the baek of the shank., extending its entire length.

1u this manner we produce a cheap, strong, and light wrench, which is capable of very quick and easy change and adjustment.

'Having thus described our invention,

What we-claim is.-

The screw E, bolt 1)and catch h provided with the thumb-piece t', when constructed and arranged toopcrate substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

-PETER BURRESS'. CONRAD CLINF.

lYVitnes'ses:

PETER CzIzEI, llmJArI .Parc n.. 

